Be More Like Ilia

So I've decided we need to all be a bit more like Olympian Ilia Malinin.

I can't do triple lutz toe loops on the ice, but I can shoot a basketball and so I play Sunday morning hoops to feel better, get a good run in, and temper the noise from our kids in their 20s, folks in their 80s and work deadlines that always seem to be a crisis. These games are my Olympics. But when the new guy shows up and plays like Kemba Walker circa 2011 UCONN with step backs and head fakes, I use up all my energy on defense and end up with an underachieving stat line of 2 for 13 shooting, 9 turnovers and at least 5 "hey, my bad, that was my guy" moments. On one play, I was knocked down by air, another I somehow blocked my own shot. I'm becoming a dinosaur with each trip up the court. BUT, it's still great camaraderie - and sometimes a few bricks is good for the soul, still better to have played and lost than have stayed home eating glaze donuts, which are delicious, obviously. Losing is not fun but if you do it right you can be better for it. I cried a little after my latest poor performance but I'm thinking I should be more like Ilia Malinin the ice skater who fell on the way to losing the Olympics. I’d argue we learned more about Ilia the person than the skater after he lost out on a medal at the Olympics but showed grace in approaching competitors from other countries, including the winning skater, holding his head high even though he didn’t meet expectations - at least those from the media, perhaps his Olympic team and no doubt himself. Ilia showed how you lose after a fall and how you act in midst of loss - how you can be disappointed, but be a winner in so many other ways. At least that's what I'm telling myself.